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To obtain the necessary information on fuel debris and water leakages during the decommissioning task of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, an ultrasonic-based method was proposed for future internal i...
Automatic analysis of our daily lives and activities through a first-person lifelog camera provides us with opportunities to improve our life rhythms or to support our limited visual memories. Notably, to expr...
This paper describes development of a mobile robot using semicircular wheels on uneven terrain. It performs the crawl gait on flat ground without changing potential energy and the butterfly gait to climb over ...
We propose miniature ultrasonic motors using stators made of a single bulk piezoelectric element. The bulk piezoelectric stator has the potential to increase output by reducing the dissipation that occurs in t...
This paper proposes a novel, simple and high-efficient submerged structural stabilization system for a self-stabilizing buoy that provides a stable platform for oceanographic and meteorological sensors. The pr...
Machines that are sensitive to environmental fluctuations, such as autonomous and pet robots, are currently in demand, rendering the ability to control huge and complex systems crucial. However, controlling su...
A new approach to the active fault diagnosis (AFD) for input redundant plants is presented in this paper. A test signal which helps the diagnosis is injected to the plant in addition to nominal control input i...
It is a problem that the poor gait function of many elderly people affects their activities of daily living (ADL), and deteriorates their quality of life (QoL). To enhance rehabilitation of the gait function, ...
Teleoperated robots are expected to perform tasks in extreme environments such as disaster sites. However, only few teleoperated robots are used for this purpose because their usability is poor compared to hum...
In this paper, a navigation and environment mapping method is presented for small exploration robots that use hopping motion. While previous research about hopping rovers mostly focuses on mobility and mechani...
Large-sized gantry-type linear motor sliders are widely used in industry (e.g. in liquid crystal panel production equipment). An appropriate control model is important for deriving control methods to improve c...
The wheelchair is the major means of transport for elderly and physically disabled people in their daily lives. However it cannot overcome architectural barriers such as curbs and stairs. In this study, we dev...
We have proposed and developed a new quadruped walking robot with a spherical shell, called “QRoSS”. QRoSS is a transformable robot that can store its legs in the spherical shell. The shell not only absorbs ex...
The currently available exoskeleton for assisting the paraplegic patient in walking usually adapts a pre-programmed gait that involves the patient following an exoskeleton lead. The system allows the patient t...
This paper proposes a stair-climbing gait for a four-wheeled vehicle. The idea and methodology of climbing stairs are described, and the results of experiments are shown. Crawler-type vehicles and vehicles wit...
Locomotion is a fundamental human skill. Real-time sensing and feedback is a promising strategy for motion training to reconstruct healthy locomotion patterns lost due to aging or disease, and to prevent injur...
This paper proposes a stiff and safe task-space position and attitude control scheme for robotic manipulators. This study extends the work of Kikuuwe et al’s. (2006) velocity-bounding proxy-based sliding mode ...
In a musculoskeletal system, internal tensile forces are generated among the muscles because it is a redundant system. The balancing of the internal tensile forces for a given posture generates a potential fie...
One of the main challenges for the elderly is insufficient lower limb strength during sit-to-stand movement, which may be improved by supporting the joint externally. Existing lower extremity exoskeletons use ...
In robot teleoperation, a lack of depth information often results in collisions between the robots and obstacles in its path or surroundings. To address this issue, free viewpoint images can greatly benefit th...
In this paper, a novel visual-tactile sensor is proposed; additionally, an object manipulation method for a multi-fingered robotic hand grasping an object is proposed by detecting a contact position using the ...
Medication is an important approach of treatment for patients with schizophrenia; however, the availability of visiting nurses and other human-related support is limited. This study aims to build a system in w...
As the geriatric population expands, caregivers require more accurate training to handle and care for the elderly. However, students lack methods for acquiring the necessary skill and experience, as well as su...
In this paper, we propose a wearable tactile sensor for measuring the shape of micro-undulations on a hard surface. The proposed sensor has two layers. The inner one is a thin rubber layer into which a strain ...
Stretching is a major treatment for restoring the ankle range of motion while decreasing the ankle stiffness. An automatic stretching machine can provide long-term continual stretching at home. However, no com...
Artificial intelligence (AI)-based robots have become popular in various fields, thereby increasing the demand for care robots. Such care robots recognize or estimate factors such as human states and then perf...
Measuring and controlling external force from the environment and human beings are essential to realize the future application of the robot systems for medical, nursing, and personal support systems. This pape...
The mechanical properties of cells, such as leukocytes, in a diseased state differ from those of healthy cells, typically due to their microstructure. The deformability of the cells through a constrictive area...
This paper examines the feasibility of automated alignment in sagittal direction in MR-TRUS fusion biopsy of the prostate by comparing the prostate contour in axial images between different modalities. In the ...
Active microfluidics for the applications to cellular deformability measurements is an emerging research field ranging from engineering to medicine. Here, we review conventional and microfluidic methods, and i...
This paper describes a vacuum suction-type end effector for depalletizing robots in distribution centers. The developed end effector has multiple suction pad units to which a bellows pneumatic actuator is appl...
One of the main sequelae of stroke is dificulty walking, which is characterized by a decreased gait velocity and asymmetrical walking patterns. The purpose of this research was initially focused on developing ...
For future medical microrobotics, we have proposed the concept of the electroosmotic self-propulsive microswimmer powered by biofuel cell. According to the derived theoretical model, its self-propulsion veloci...
A worm gear has the advantages of a large reduction ratio and non-backdrivability. Because of this non-backdrivability, it can maintain a joint angle without energy consumption. Today, many robots have large w...
Spatial change detection is a fundamental technique for finding the differences between two or more pieces of geometrical information. This technique is critical in some robotic applications, such as search an...
To achieve quantitative palpation in vivo, we developed a catheter-type tactile sensor composed of a polyvinylidene fluoride film for minimally invasive surgery. We evaluated the fundamental performance of the...
In supermarkets or grocery, a shopping cart is a necessary tool for shopping. In this paper, we have developed an intelligent shopping support robot that can carry a shopping cart while following its owners an...
In this paper, toward robotic gait assistance, we investigate the feasibility of a cane-type assistive mobile robot accompanying the user autonomously through a clinical pilot experiment. As widely known, gait...
In this study, the novel approach of real-time video stabilization system using a high-frame-rate (HFR) jitter sensing device is demonstrated to realize the computationally efficient technique of digital video...
Slippage occurrence has an important roll in stable and robust object grasping and manipulation. However, in majority of prior research on soft finger manipulation, presence of the slippage between fingers and...
Brain damage due to stroke often leaves survivors with lateral functional motor deficits. Bimanual rehabilitation of the paretic arm is an active field of research aimed at restoring normal functionality by ma...
Automation and labor saving in agriculture have been required recently. However, mechanization and robots for growing fruits have not been advanced. This study proposes a method of detecting fruits and automat...
This study introduces injury risk curves for the lumbar spine for use in the risk assessment of low back pain (LBP) caused by manual lifting of heavy loads. LBP has been a longstanding problem among industrial...
This paper presents fabrication and actuation methods for a soft microrobot with a hybrid structure composed of soft microactuators and a rigid supporting body. This hybrid structure enables actuation of the m...
Breast cancer diagnosis has been mostly accomplished through imaging. These methods have great advantages in being able to detect the presence and location of breast cancer. However, it is difficult to disting...
One of the recommended post-stroke gait rehabilitation treatments is the use of an ankle–foot orthosis. In clinical practice, it is important to adjust the torque of the ankle–foot orthosis assistance to suit ...
This paper reports negative effects on runner’s motions which are supported by an exoskeleton attached to his/her lower limbs. A wearable assistive device has generally been developed to support motions of a w...
Recently, wearable extra robotic limbs that aim to enhance the functionality and capability of human operators as extra arms or fingers have become an active research subject among robotics researchers. Improv...
This paper proposes a navigation system of a personal mobility robot in informationally structured and unstructured environments. First, we introduce a group of robots named Portable Go, which are equipped wit...
A long-reach robotic arm is useful for applications such as nuclear plant decommissioning, inspection, and firefighting. However, for such arms, a small external reaction force can result in large loads on pro...
